Typewriter Talk / Information needed on Remington Standard 10S Cyrillic Typewriter

**Posted by JoshCattermole99** 27-8-2018 15:14:53

Hello and thank you for accepting me into the forum.

For a little while I've been looking to buy an old typewriter to add to my ''turn of the century machine'' collection (consists of a phonograph, film projector etc...). During a recent holiday to the Czech Republic I saw an old looking typewriter in a dusty corner of an antique shop. What immediately caught my attention was the Russian Cyrillic keys (and 2 Czech key labels which seem to have been added later). I decided to buy it and haggled the price down to approximately £50.

When I next had internet connection I tried my very best to research what I had bought. I could find lots of into on Remington 10 typewriters, but virtually nothing on the 10S aside from an extremely small number of pictures, none of which had Cyrillic keys. I tried to figure out a date from the serial number, which, if I remember correctly, is LP60680. I couldn't find much info on this aside from it likely being early 20s, but I would love to get a specific date.

The possible history of this machine also intrigues me. Why would America sell typewriters to a country which, at the time, they were at war with (The Americans fought against the Bolsheviks as part of the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1922). And would it have ended up in the Czech Republic in the aftermath of the establishment of the Eastern Bloc during and after WW2? And why would 2 tabs (which, if I remember rightly, were the ''Shift'' key and something else) feature Czech labels instead of just keeping them Russian. I am really stumped here. And on top of that, the machine was way too heavy for me to take back on my own, so have to wait for it to arrive at my house in the next week, so unfortunately I don't currently have any photos.

Apologies for all the questions and the thick blocks of text, but I really do hope it helps establish context and make it easier to get a picture of what I have here. Basically, to simplify it: what can anybody tell me about the Remington Standard 10S Cyrillic Typewriter? Many thanks.

**Posted by thetypewriterman** 28-8-2018 03:44:08

Only a theory, but I think that there must have been a strong connection between Remington and Czecholslovakia (as it was then), because Remington typewriters were produced under licence there as 'Zeta'. However, I think that was after the Second World War, so you might have to do a bit of research. Maybe at least I might have pointed you in the right direction.

**Posted by JoshCattermole99** 30-8-2018 09:10:40

Interesting theory. Thanks for that.

My typewriter, however, says ''Made in Ilion, New York, USA'', so must have been exported at some point to Russia.

**Posted by JoshCattermole99** 13-9-2018 04:00:33

Anybody have any idea at all?

**Posted by Uwe** 13-9-2018 11:54:40

JoshCattermole99 wrote:
I tried to figure out a date from the serial number, which, if I remember correctly, is LP60680. I couldn't find much info on this aside from it likely being early 20s, but I would love to get a specific date.

Based on the number, it could also be a 1914, or a 1926 model. You really need to compare the machine's features with the development of the Model 10 if you want to come up with a more definitive manufacturing date.

JoshCattermole99 wrote:
Why would America sell typewriters to a country which, at the time, they were at war with (The Americans fought against the Bolsheviks as part of the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1922). And would it have ended up in the Czech Republic in the aftermath of the establishment of the Eastern Bloc during and after WW2?

It wasn't much of a war, was it? I'd have to question what trade restrictions/embargos were in place at the time; regardless, the machine might have been manufactured prior to that period, or after it, which would remove the intervention from the discussion. My own speculation concerning the typewriter's history is far more simple: It could have been ordered and purchased through a Czech Remington retailer by any number of people (or companies) who had a need for a Cyrillic keyboard. It would be the same scenario as a French person living in the United States ordering a AZERTY keyboard through his local Olympia dealer.

Remington-licensed typewriter production in Czechoslovakia started in the early '30s with the Model 16, so your typewriter is definitely not one of those models.

**Posted by JoshCattermole99** 14-9-2018 02:35:22

Wwow. Thanks Uwe. That is some really interesting info. I had no idea that it could be as early as 1914, I assumed it was around the 1920 mark. That's amazing. I'll try to upload some photos so that the experts here can study and see if they believe it to be the 1914 or 1926 date.

As to your views on how it ended up in the Czech Republic, it seems quite reasonable that it ended up there via a Remington dealer. As the saying goes, the simplest theory is often the most likely.

Thank you once again. I'll upload the photos as soon as I can.

**Posted by JoshCattermole99** 14-9-2018 06:12:51

As promised, here are the pictures.

**Posted by JoshCattermole99** 14-9-2018 06:13:27

Oh dear. It doesn't seem to be uploading properly. I'll try again

**Posted by JoshCattermole99** 14-9-2018 06:14:10

**Posted by JoshCattermole99** 14-9-2018 06:17:50

Here's some more.